The 2013 V8SuperTourer season is a motor racing championship for touring cars held in New Zealand. The season started on 16 February at Hampton Downs Motorsport Park and ended on 8 December at Pukekohe Park Raceway after seven rounds. All cars used a chassis built by Paul Ceprnich of Pace Innovations in Australia, and were powered by a Chevrolet LS7 7-litre engine.
While the chassis and engines are the same (to provide a level playing field and hopefully allow the best drivers to succeed due to talent, not equipment), the cars can 'wear' body panels from any suitable model. So far, cars have appeared as either the Ford Falcon or Holden Commodore, but the chassis has a generic enough shape that a manufacturer such as Toyota or BMW could likely fit their bodywork to a Supertourer chassis and race as Lexus or 5 Series model.
There were to be 24 cars on the grid in Round 1 at Hampton Downs Motorsport Park with talks that there also may be a Hyundai on the grid as well. It was confirmed that New Zealand Business BNT Automotive would be the official sponsor of the V8SuperTourer.
Scott McLaughlin started the season as the defending drivers' champion.
Calendar The 2013 V8SuperTourer season consisted of seven rounds, although only six were confirmed. The dates for round 6 were set for 9 and 10 November:
Details Event Circuit City / state Date 1 The Rock Rumble Hampton Downs Motorsport Park North Waikato, New Zealand 15–17 February 2 Mike Pero Need for Speed Powerbuilt Tools Raceway Christchurch, New Zealand 9–10 March 3 Brother 350 Pukekohe Park Raceway Pukekohe, New Zealand 25–26 May 4 Gull 250 Ricoh Taupo Motorsport Park Taupō, New Zealand 31 Aug–1 Sept 5 Aegis Oils Waikato 400 Hampton Downs Motorsport Park North Waikato, New Zealand 28–29 September 6 Hampton 400 Hampton Downs Motorsport Park North Waikato, New Zealand 19–20 October 7 Mike Pero 500 Pukekohe Park Raceway Pukekohe, New Zealand 29 Nov–1 Dec Key:
Teams and drivers
The following teams and drivers competed during the 2013 V8SuperTourer season. Manufacturer Vehicle Team No. Driver Rounds Holden Commodore (VE) Scott McLaughlin Racing 1 Scott McLaughlin All Angus Fogg Racing 3 Angus Fogg All Edgell Performance Racing 8 Tim Edgell All M3 Racing 10 Richard Moore All 15 Paul Manuell 51 Greg Murphy Farmer Racing Services 11 Simon Evans All MPC Motorsport 12 Ashley Walsh 1–4 Garry Jacobson 5–7 22 Andre Heimgartner All AV8 Motorsport 23 Andy Booth All M2 Racing 26 Simon McLennan 1–3, 7 Ford Falcon (FG) iSport Racing 9 Dominic Storey All PSR Racing 27 Craig Baird 1–2, 5–7 Kayne Scott 3 Daniel Gaunt 4 Tasman Motorsports Group 31 Daniel Gaunt 1–3, 5–7 Andrew Waite 4 Cunningham Racing 32 Mitch Cunningham All John McIntyre Racing 47 John McIntyre All Eddie Bell Racing 69 Eddie Bell All International Motorsport 96 Ant Pedersen All MPC Motorsport 97 Shane van Gisbergen All Endurance entries Team Season driver Endurance driver Rounds Scott McLaughlin Racing 1 Scott McLaughlin Jonathon Webb 5–6 James Moffat 7 Angus Fogg Racing 3 Angus Fogg Dale Wood 5–7 Edgell Performance Racing 8 Tim Edgell Lee Holdsworth 5–7 iSport Racing 9 Dominic Storey Mark Gibson 5–7 M3 Racing 10 Richard Moore Tim Slade 5–7 15 Paul Manuell John Penny 5 Nick Percat 6–7 51 Greg Murphy Jack Perkins 5–7 Farmer Racing Services 11 Simon Evans Jonny Reid 5–7 MPC Motorsport 12 Garry Jacobson Geoff Emery 5, 7 Drew Russell 6 22 Andre Heimgartner Paul Morris 5–7 97 Shane van Gisbergen Alex Davison 5–7 AV8 Motorsport 23 Andy Booth Shae Davies 5–7 M2 Racing 26 Simon McLennan Cameron Waters 7 PSR Racing 27 Craig Baird Matt Lockwood 5–7 Tasman Motorsports Group 31 Daniel Gaunt Andrew Waite 5–7 Cunningham Racing 32 Mitch Cunningham Wade Cunningham 5 Tony D'Alberto 6–7 John McIntyre Racing 47 John McIntyre Jono Lester 5–6 Warren Luff 7 Eddie Bell Racing 69 Eddie Bell Nick McBride 5 Steve Owen 6–7 International Motorsport 96 Ant Pedersen Chaz Mostert 5–7
Results The season started at Hampton Downs Motorsport Park and finished at Pukekohe Park Raceway for the annual Pukekohe 500.
Round Date Circuit Pole position Fastest lap Winning driver Winning team 1 R1 17 February Hampton Downs Motorsport Park Ant Pedersen Greg Murphy Greg Murphy M3 Racing Greg Murphy R2 Richard Moore Greg Murphy M3 Racing R3 Greg Murphy Greg Murphy M3 Racing 2 R1 10 March Powerbuilt Tools Raceway Ant Pedersen Scott McLaughlin Daniel Gaunt Tasman Motorsports Daniel Gaunt R2 Scott McLaughlin Daniel Gaunt Tasman Motorsports R3 Ant Pedersen Ant Pedersen International Motorsport 3 R1 26 March Pukekohe Park Raceway Shane van Gisbergen Shane van Gisbergen Shane van Gisbergen MPC Motorsport Shane van Gisbergen R2 Shane van Gisbergen Shane van Gisbergen MPC Motorsport R3 Greg Murphy Greg Murphy M3 Racing 4 R1 7 September Ricoh Taupo Motorsport Park Scott McLaughlin Andre Heimgartner Shane van Gisbergen MPC Motorsport Shane van Gisbergen R2 Scott McLaughlin Ant Pedersen Ant Pedersen International Motorsport R3 Andy Booth Andy Booth AV8 Motorsport 5 R1 29 September Hampton Downs Motorsport Park Tim Slade Lee Holdsworth Greg Murphy Jack Perkins M3 Racing Shane van Gisbergen Alex Davison R2 Shane van Gisbergen Lee Holdsworth Lee Holdsworth Tim Edgell Edgell Performance Racing R3 Lee Holdsworth Ant Pedersen Chaz Mostert International Motorsport 6 R1 20 October Hampton Downs Motorsport Park Richard Moore Tim Slade Greg Murphy Jack Perkins M3 Racing Ant Pedersen Chaz Mostert R2 Tim Slade Tim Slade Richard Moore Tim Slade M3 Racing R3 Ant Pedersen Ant Pedersen Chaz Mostert International Motorsport 7 R1 1 December Pukekohe Park Raceway Shane van Gisbergen Shane van Gisbergen Shane van Gisbergen Alex Davison MPC Motorsport Scott McLaughlin James Moffat R2 Lee Holdsworth Lee Holdsworth Lee Holdsworth Tim Edgell Edgell Performance Racing R3 Greg Murphy Scott McLaughlin James Moffat Scott McLaughlin Racing
Event summaries
The Rock Rumble Results Event 1 Race 1 Race 2 Race 3 Poleposition Ant Pedersen(International Motorsport) Racewinner Greg Murphy(M3 Racing) Greg Murphy(M3 Racing) Greg Murphy(M3 Racing)
Greg Murphy won all three of the races at the season opener at Hampton Downs Motorsport Park continuing his great form at the North Waikato Track. Ant Pedersen also shone at the season opener claiming Pole Position and two second placings, a great result for the young driver from International Motorsport. The event also saw Front Running Kiwi V8 Supercar Driver Shane van Gisbergen join the series, in one of the MPC Motorsport Cars; he would eventually finish third for the round.
Mike Pero Need for Speed Results Event 2 Race 1 Race 2 Race 3 Poleposition Ant Pedersen(International Motorsport) Racewinner Daniel Gaunt(Tasman Motorsports) Daniel Gaunt(Tasman Motorsports) Ant Pedersen(International Motorsport)
Round 2 of the Series at Ruapuna saw Ant Pedersen claim another Pole Position, this time over Shane van Gisbergen. But Ant Pedersen wasn't the only Ford driver with speed, Tasman Motorsports driver Daniel Gaunt managed to claim the first two races then finishing Race 3 in second giving the Ford driver the Round Victory. Championship Leader Greg Murphy finished second in the first two races but had car troubles in the final giving him a DNF and dropping him to 6th in the Round.
Brother 350 Results Event 3 Race 1 Race 2 Race 3 Poleposition Shane van Gisbergen(MPC Motorsport) Racewinner Shane van Gisbergen(MPC Motorsport) Shane van Gisbergen(MPC Motorsport) Greg Murphy(M3 Racing)
Round 3 of the Series was held at the home of New Zealand Motorsport Pukekohe Park Raceway, where everyone thought hometown hero Greg Murphy would clean up, which wasn't the case. Shane van Gisbergen dominated the weekend claiming Pole then the first two races before Greg Murphy snatched the last race but because of the two victories Shane held on for the Round Victory. Resigning Champion Scott McLaughlin returned to the podium for the first time in 2013 claiming two-thirds and a fourth.
Gull 250 Results Event 4 Race 1 Race 2 Race 3 Poleposition Scott McLaughlin(Scott McLaughlin Racing) Scott McLaughlin(Scott McLaughlin Racing) Racewinner Shane van Gisbergen(MPC Motorsport) Ant Pedersen(International Motorsport) Andy Booth(AV8 Motorsport)
Round 4 of the Series was the final Sprint Series Round which was held in Taupō, where the fight was between Greg Murphy and Ant Pedersen for the Sprint Series Crown. Scott McLaughlin showed fantastic speed all weekend claiming both Pole Positions, but sadly had rotten luck in the races including a big start line crash in Race 3. Shane van Gisbergen eventually won the round over Andy Booth (who won Race 3) and Ant Pedersen (who won Race 2), but sadly for Ant he didn't get the points he needed to stop Greg Murphy from winning the 2013 Sprint Series Championship.
Aegis Oils Waikato 400 Results Event 5 Race 1 Race 2 Race 3 Poleposition Richard Moore and Tim Slade(M3 Racing) Racewinner Greg Murphy and Jack Perkins(M3 Racing) Tim Edgell and Lee Holdsworth(Edgell Performance Racing) Ant Pedersen and Chaz Mostert(International Motorsport)
Round 5 of the season was the first Endurance Season round with many Australian Drivers making the trip to come over. The weekend saw different race winners for each race with Hampton Downs King Greg Murphy taking out Race 1 with 2012 co-driver Jack Perkins, Race 2 saw Tim Edgell and Lee Holdsworth claim their first race wins in V8SuperTourer. Then in Race 3 the International Motorsport duo of Ant Pedersen and Chaz Mostert managed to win. Because of great consistency Shane van Gisbergen and Alex Davison managed to win the round, the third round win in a row for Shane.
Hampton 400 Results Event 6 Race 1 Race 2 Race 3 Poleposition Richard Moore and Tim Slade(M3 Racing) Racewinner Greg Murphy and Jack Perkins(M3 Racing) Richard Moore and Tim Slade(M3 Racing) Ant Pedersen and Chaz Mostert(International Motorsport)
Round 6 of the season saw many of the same results as Round 6 with Greg Murphy taking out Race 1 with Jack Perkins, Race 2 saw Richard Moore and Tim Slade claim their first race wins in V8SuperTourer. Then in Race 3 the International Motorsport duo of Ant Pedersen and Chaz Mostert managed to win the final race again just like Round 5, but this team the Ford drivers of Ant and Chaz also claimed the round, giving Ant Pedersen the overall Series lead over Greg Murphy going into the final round.
Mike Pero 500 Results Event 7 Race 1 Race 2 Race 3 Poleposition Shane van Gisbergen and Alex Davison(MPC Motorsport) Racewinner Shane van Gisbergen and Alex Davison(MPC Motorsport) Tim Edgell and Lee Holdsworth(Edgell Performance Racing) Scott McLaughlin and James Moffat(Scott McLaughlin Racing)
The Mike Pero 500 was the 7th and final round of the 2013 V8 SuperTourer Championship which ended up coming down between Ant Pedersen, Greg Murphy and Shane van Gisbergen. The first race saw Shane van Gisbergen take the first strike at the title winning Race 1 with Alex Davison before having car troubles putting them out of Race 2 and 3 and ending his hopes at the title leaving it between Greg Murphy and Ant Pedersen. After the first race Greg Murphy managed to take over the Series lead after finishing second; then in Race 2 Ant Pedersen retook the lead of the Series by 45 points. Then in the final race Greg Murphy managed to finish second with Ant Pedersen finishing 5th giving Murphy the 2013 Crown. The weekend also saw Scott McLaughlin return to the winners' circle claiming his first and only race win of the season with James Moffat alongside him.
Championship leader table Round Championship leader The Rock Rumble Greg Murphy 197 Mike Pero Need for Speed 59 Brother 350 208 Gull 250 174 Aegis Oils Waikato 400 74 Hampton 400 Ant Pedersen 90 Mike Pero 500 Greg Murphy
Championship standings
Drivers' Championship